Free Guy earned an estimated $28.4 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend, and the movie’s star Ryan Reynolds is now saying the theatrical-only release may be getting a follow-up.
The roughly $100 million 20th Century Fox film, directed by Shawn Levy, surpassed expectations of a $15 to $20 million debut. As the Associated Press reports, the film’s release tactic further emphasizes the belief that hybrid releases—such as Warner Bros. “The Suicide Squad” and Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” which also released on streaming—may get in the way of ticket sales.
The film, which was shown at 4,165 North American theaters, follows Reynolds as he realizes he’s a “non-playable character” in an open-world game similar to “Grand Theft Auto,” and it also stars Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery and Taika Waititi, as Reynolds’ character Guy tries to save his city alongside game programmers.
After the news of the impressive opening, Reynolds took to Twitter Sunday to share that a sequel will soon be in the works as it got a nod of approval from Disney. But of course, he had to throw in some jabs.
“Aaaannnnd after 3 years messaging #FreeGuy as an original IP movie, Disney confirmed today they officially want a sequel. Woo hoo! #irony,” Reynolds wrote.
Levy also confirmed the news with a simple “Yuuuuuuuup,” so it’s looking like things will be coming together just fine in the free-for-all universe Reynolds’ character lives in.
